Toy building-block.



P. MULLER.

TOY BUILDING BLOCK. APPLICATION man NOV. 12. 1915.

' 1,172,385. Patented Feb.22,1916.

. wwwgow I (jg wuemtoz 2% m 3% fl PAUL MiTLLER,'OF NEW YORK; N. Y.

TOY BUILDING-BLOCK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1916.

Application filed November 12, 1915. Serial No. 60,999.

To all whom it may concern: 1

Be it known that I, PAUL llIfiLLER, a citizen of Germany, and a resident of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toy Building-Blocks, of: which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to 'a toy building block of novel construction, by means of which. children can .put up toy'buildings and other structures in a substantial and instructive manner.

In the accompanying drawing: Figurel is a perspective view of the corner of a toy building, constructed of blocks embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a s'ectionon line 22,

Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 a cross section through one of the blocks, with the screw omitted.

The block 1, constructed according to my invention, is of oblong or other form, and may be made of wood or other material. Through the body of the block there extends from top to bottom, a plurality of parallel bore holes 2, three of such holes being shown. Each of these holes is open at both ends, and is furnished along its inner screw thread 3, of coarse pitch. IVithin hole -2, there is adapted to be loosely accommodated, a grub screw 4:, of corresponding pitch, the nicked head 5 of which is of a size to snugly fit the hole, so that the screw may be countersunk to any extent desired. Each screw should, however, be considerably shorter than the hole that receives the same, so that a clearance may be formed at either end of the screw within the hole.

In use, a course of blocks 1 is laid down, and then a second course is superimposed in such a manner, that the holes of the upper course register with those of the lower course. A screw is now driven through the hole of the upper block until it passes with its barrel across the joint between the courses and enetrates a distance into the hole of the lower block, so that in this way the two blocks become firmly united while a clearance is formed in the upper hole, above the head of the screw. After the third course has the screws will remain to the block, and are not liable to become lost. 1

entire length with an been laid, a screw is similarly driven through the block of this course, to pass across the joint between courses three and two, into the upper clearance of the hole in course 2. In

this way, the structure is carried to its completion, addltlonal screws being driven into the clearance of the top course, the heads of which will be flush with the surface of said course, so as to provide a neat finish.

Vhen the structure is to be dismantled, the screws are withdrawn to an extent only which is sufficient to relinquish their hold, so that they remain housed within the holes inwhich they are countersunk. In this way, a permanent adjunct It will be seen that the erection or taking down of the toy structure will consume considerable time, and compel the child to use patience while at the same time, requiring the exercise of mechanical .skill and industry. The structure after being finished, will be so thoroughly united in allot its parts that it may be 'freely carried about or used for a variety of games. The screws not only serve as invisible attaching means, but they will not swell up, stick or break so that the device will enjoy a long life, even when subject to rough treatment.

I claim:

1. A toy building block provided with a threaded hole extending completely therethrough, and of a grub screw engaging said hole and adapted to be countersunk therein, the length of the screw being less than the length of the hole, so that a clearance 1s adapted to be formed above said screw wlthin said hole.

2. A toy comprising a plurality of superposed blocks having alined threaded holes extending therethrough from top to bottom, and a plurality of countersunk grub screws that engage the threads of adjoining holes at the .junction between the blocks, while a clearance is formed between the several screws.

PAUL MULLER. 

